Heaven and Oak
by Scorpio-Rat
Summary: When she looks at the stars, all she sees is old history, but his eyes can see what is to come. A collection of one-shots and drabbles centering around the pairing of Sailor Jupiter and Nephrite, in the past, present, and future.
1. In Too Deep

AN: This is supposed to take place a month or so after Serenity and Endymion first meet in the Silver Millennium. All of the Senshi and Shitennou have seen each other a few times as they acted as guards during visits.

* * *

Nephrite watched from a distance as his Prince stood in the Golden Kingdom's garden, speaking in low tones to the Moon Princess. A year ago, he would not have imagined himself in this position, standing guard as Endymion secretly met-and fell in love with- Princess Serenity, heir to the Moon Kingdom. And if he were honest, he shouldn't be doing this. It was almost treason, allowing someone from another world to even get near his charge, but...he couldn't separate them.

Nephrite hadn't seen his prince this happy for a long time, and even though he considered himself a loyal knight, he did understand and emphasize with love. And ever since he had seen one of Serenity's guards, he had been a bit too distracted to dwell on their shared crime anyway. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a green and white figure approach him, before stopping a polite few steps away to watch the same scene as he was.

The smell of the slightly damp woods around them seemed to intensify with her presence, and Nephrite involuntarily took a deeper breath than usual to better appreciate it. A second later, his brain caught up with his body, and he snorted. It was almost intoxicating, and he wondered if the Princess had selected this senshi to join her just to mess with his concentration.

"She falls deeper for him every night they meet..." Sailor Jupiter said, behind his back. Was she referring to herself, or Serenity? He couldn't really tell, but he nodded anyway. He already knew he was in too deep, in more than one way.

"A wise man would call this development dangerous." Nephrite responded. He kept his voice low, like hers, and he could hear the bushes shift as she moved even closer. He could almost taste the pine on his tongue, the effect was so intense. But there was something more flowery about it too...

"And do you think of yourself as wise?" she asked. She had an accent when speaking Earth's language, just like the other senshi, but each one was different. Nephrite found that he liked her's the most though. What did her first language even sound like? He grinned and scratched his now rough cheek. He needed to shave again some point soon, before Kunzite got on him for not following protocol.

"No, that's Zoisite's job. I'm just here to be the extra muscle." He heard her laugh for a moment, and he felt a bit of pride.

"Is that so?" She was right next to him now, but he didn't look at her, focusing more on the pair in the garden. Endymion and Serenity stood much closer, and he was whispering something into her ear that caused the princess to blush and hide her face in his chest. "So that's why you're one of the Shitennou? I was under the impression that it took more than just brawn to become a knight."

"I never said I lacked intelligence." Nephrite turned, and his eyes finally found Jupiter, trailing up her tall frame. He had thought that he and Kunzite were tall, men but her people were different than the ones of Earth, and she was very close to his own height. He couldn't imagine what the others on her planet looked like. Her skin was tanned, and she actually looked the part of a warrior, with defined muscles and hardened green eyes along with her long red hair pulled back inot a neat pontail. "I council my Prince in the ways of battle, not book facts."

"You must be a skilled fighter to teach the future ruler of Earth," she said. She almost shamelessly looked him over, her gaze lingering on his arms and chest. Was she trying to judge how tough he was, or was she just checking him out? He knew how disciplined Serenity's guardians were, but they definitely still had emotions. "Would you...care to spar with me sometime? I've never seen an Earth warrior in action."

Nephrite detected a waver of hesitation in her voice, which was new. Was she actually nervous? But the thought of facing her in combat, hand to hand and up close and personal, drew his interest like a moth to a candle. Did he really have a choice?

"I wouldn't say no to that." He really was in over his head here.


	2. Rumors

**AN** : I won't be adding a new drabble every day, because I just tend to write something whenever an idea hits me. I'm just lucky I had two in a row. Here's another Silver Millennium based one.

* * *

At first, Nephrite was wary of Jupiter. Not out of fear that he'd be hurt, but there was just something about her that put him on guard. Jupiter's eyes rarely left Nephrite when they had first met, the second time Serenity had ended up on Earth. She watched him like he watched foreigners who were possible dangers to Endymion, and Nephrite wasn't used to that sensation.

And the few and far between rumors about Jovians didn't help either. The old tales said they were twice as big as a Terran man, and ten times as strong. Their tempers were bad and they often went on angry rampages. They could snap lances over their knees like twigs, and worshiped storms, destruction, and lightning itself.

But over time, Nephrite learned that none of those things were really true. Jupiter was only his own height, and though she was definitely strong enough to accidentally break a few doors, glasses, and chairs, she couldn't shove boulders around. The worst he'd seen her temper was when Serenity had wandered away from her into the woods alone, and it had faded just as quick as it had arrived when the princess hugged her with tears in her eyes.

And when he had told her the rumor about being able to break lances, she laughed and took it up like a challenge. One hurt leg later, and it was him who was laughing at her as she cursed and cradled it on the ground. Nephrite did bandage her knee up afterwards, feeling bad that he suggested it to her in the first place.

"I bet my brother could break it…" she said, being careful not to put her weight on it as she stood up.

"Remind me not to challenge him to a contest of strength then," Nephrite said. He glanced at the lance she had dropped, noting that she had still bent its solid steel shaft quite a bit for a failed attempt. She grinned.

"He'd snap you like a twig."

"Is that all the faith you have in me? I'm hurt." He picked up the lance and looked at it closer. "Hm… the blacksmith won't be happy about this. More work for him."

"I could try to bend it back," Jupiter offered. Nephrite shook his head and tossed it aside.

"It'd never be perfectly straight again, so we might as well melt it back down into scrap. Besides, if you hurt yourself again, your princess might get the idea that we're fighting." And Nephrite didn't want to risk Jupiter not coming back again.

"You may be right," she admitted. "How about a less dangerous activity then? May we visit the garden? Or is that off limits to the public, General?" He raised a brow at her sarcasm, unused to it. She tended to be very blunt about things. Or maybe that was just the way she acted around him in particular?

"Nothing is off limits to me in the castle," he said. "Besides, Endymion already invited Princess Serenity to see it, so I'm assuming one of you senshi has seen it before. One more wouldn't hurt. Are you sure your leg can handle the walk though?"

"It's only bruised, I've been hurt worse than this before." She winced as she took a step, but didn't lose her balance. "I'm fine."

"Suit yourself…" After making their way through a few outdoor passages connecting the grounds of Castle Terra, the pair walked onto a plot of land boxed in by neatly trimmed hedges and fences. In front of them was a field of multicolored flowers, blanketing the spot.

Nephrite watched Jupiter's expression change into one of surprise, and then awe. She took ginger steps towards the first patch of flowers, a bed of well cared for pink roses, and knelt down to see them better. He was silent as she examined them with a critical touch, something he didn't know that she possessed until that moment.

"They're so delicate…" she said, and he almost didn't hear her. "But they're covered in thorns as well. I've never seen anything like it before."

"So you don't have those kinds of flowers on your planet? Not even on the Moon?" Nephrite asked. She shook her head.

"We have wilder plants on Jupiter. We don't do as much sectioning or cutting beyond setting up barriers. I've seen thorned vines and brambles before, but not delicate flowers like this." He smiled at her words.

Maybe she did worship storms and destruction, but that didn't mean that she could not appreciate creations as well. When she went back to the Moon early that morning, a single rose was missing from the garden, for it was carefully held in her gloved hands after Nephrite had cut it from the bush.


	3. Babysitting

**AN** : Okay, so this one-shot takes place in Crystal Tokyo times for a change. The Shitennou have been revived to serve King Endymion again, and Small Lady and her senshi are training to become the new guardians of the city. I have a sort of headcanon for what Makoto and Nephrite's relationship is like.

Basically, she married a regular man and had a child, but her husband died later in an accident shortly after the baby was born. Nephrite steps in later to help take care of the baby so Makoto can continue being a senshi unimpeded since she's now a single mother, and they slowly fall in love again. I might use this scenario a few more times later as ideas come up.

* * *

"Ow!" Nephrite grunted and tried to pull away, but the tiny hand wrapped around a chunk of his hair remained in place. The one year old child he was holding babbled incoherently. He had no idea babies had such good grip. He looked around Makoto's living room, hoping she hadn't heard his yell.

He was just supposed to be keeping an eye on Raito for a couple of hours while her mother took a nap, but now he was stuck. He just had to pick her up after she started crying... He had been innocently cleaning up the living room, and the baby had just been staring at him. Unsure what to do, he had smiled at her, and somehow startled her into tears, and he had hoped that picking her up would calm her down. It had in a way, but it backfired on him too. "Come on, let go already…"

Raito smiled and yanked again, and he had to bite back a curse as his eyes watered in pain. "Okay, okay!" He shifted her to one arm and grabbed her hand with his free one. "You have better toys to play with than my head, alright?" She looked amazed by how big his hand was, and let go to grab his finger instead, inspecting it. "Well, this is better…" He smiled slightly. "You're still not going to let me put you down, are you?" He bent back over the crib, but she shook her head and clung to him instead.

"That's what I thought." Nephrite decided to change his approach. "You see that toy down there?" He turned to face the stuffed Sailor Senshi plush figure sitting on the floor. He still had no idea why Minako had thought it was a funny idea to give her a Sailor Jupiter doll, but Raito had quickly gotten attached, much to her mother's embarrassment.

Raito looked and whined reaching out for it. "I'll get it for you if to go back in the crib. Now go in…" He moved her away to set her down, and she started tearing up and making distressed noises. Nephrite blanched and moved her up again.

"No, wait! Don't cry! Shhh…." Raito quieted down, but still looked like she was about to burst into tears. He sat down on the floor instead and handed the doll to her. Raito quickly forgot her earlier sadness in favor of playing with it. She looked up at him and showed the doll, and said something to him, though he had no idea what it meant. Nephrite played along with her anyway.

"Yeah, this is a nice doll. Do you know what she's called?" he asked. She looked down at the stuffed senshi toy and then back up at him with wide green eyes. "That's Sailor Jupiter. Can you say that? Jupiter." He had seen Makoto attempt to get her to say words by sounding them out, so he wanted to try encouraging her too. He could see that Raito was trying to wrap her head around the semi-familiar word, but had no idea how to start.

"Okay, how about we try it this way? This is your mother. Mama." Her eyes lit up at the word, and she looked at something over his shoulder and reached for it excitedly.

"Nephrite, what are you doing?" Makoto was standing behind them, watching with a small smile.

"Uh…" he scratched the back of his head. "She was getting upset in her crib, so I took her out of it. Was that bad?" Makoto laughed and sat down next to them, momentarily stretching her arms before relaxing again.

"No, you're fine. I just wasn't expecting it when I got up." Raito whined and strained for her again, and Mako picked her up and sat the small child on her lap. Now that they were right next to each other, Nephrite could really see the similarities between them. Raito's shorter hair was a brighter red color, but they had the same exact eyes.

"You weren't expecting it?" he asked, focusing again. Mako shook her head.

"Raito is a little shy around new people. I didn't think that she'd let you pick her up at all, but I guess she warmed up to you."

"More like warmed up to my hair…" he mumbled, massaging the side of his head.

"I should have warned you before, she likes to grab now. She's pulled on my hair a few times too. I'm a little afraid of what she'll do if Serenity wants to hold her…"

"That would definitely cause a scene," he agreed. 'One-year old pulls on Neo-Queen Serenity's Hair' would make an interesting news article for the public, at least. Raito was struggling to keep her eyes open now, and she leaned on Makoto, cuddling up against her side.

"I bet you didn't sleep at all while you were in that crib," Mako said, looking at her. "You stayed up the entire time, and now you're tired." Raito blinked slowly and yawned, and Mako watched as she succumbed to taking a nap.

"How did you do that?" Nephrite asked as Makoto stood up. "She was wide awake ten minutes ago."

"She was just hyper from all that playing. Once she calms down she sleeps pretty easily." Raito laid in her crib now, soundly asleep. "Thanks for wearing her out for me though." Nephrite stood up and walked over to the crib as well to look at her. It had been a long while since he had been around small children, so taking care of Raito was a new experience. And at first, he thought he simply wasn't cut out for it, but… maybe helping Makoto around her house wouldn't be as hard as he had imagined it to be.

* * *

 **AN:** Raito just means thunder, but with a feminine suffix at the end, in case anyone was wondering.


	4. Unwanted Company

**AN** : This is a post-Stars arc and pre-Crystal Tokyo timeline piece, so the girls are either in their last year of high school or just starting college. The Shitennou have been reborn as regular men with no powers as of yet, but they do remember the past.

* * *

"Mako, I think it's safe to say you're sick." Ami frowned and looked at the thermometer, and then back at her bedridden, still protesting friend.

"I said I'm fine…" Makoto insisted, glaring at her bedsheets. Ami had a feeling it would have been said louder if it wouldn't have triggered a coughing fit. It was amazing she had talked her into staying in her apartment instead of trying to go to school like this. Ami had spent a good chunk of the morning half persuading and half forcing Makoto into resting at home.

"You're running a 40 degree fever, I'm surprised you're not delirious right now. You really do need to stay put..."

"It's not that big of a deal, really. Can I at least walk around my own house?"

"You might tax yourself, or pass out, or…."

"Okay, I get it! I'll stay in bed like you want." Ami beamed at her, and Mako sighed, taking some relief that she at least hadn't upset her friend in her irritated haze. Then she'd really feel like crap.

"Great!" she said, before looking down at her phone as it buzzed. "I was planning on staying here until your fever broke at least, but… I have to leave for a few hours to go to an appointment," Ami admitted. "But I did ask someone to come over until I get back. Is that okay with you, Mako?"

"As long as Nurse Minako doesn't make an appearance…" Mako said, shrugging slightly. Ami wouldn't leave her at Minako's mercy right? That'd be cruel. "Not that I need watching over."

"Right, it's just for safety purposes. He should be here in a few minutes…" Wait, he?

"Ami...who did you ask?" Ami didn't meet her eyes, and Mako's thoughts went to the worst scenario. "It better not be Naoto!"

"I asked the other girls, but they were busy, and I happened to run into him on the street and he said he could do it, and I was running out of options, and…" Ami rambled, until someone rang the doorbell. "Oh, he's early! I'll go let him in." She exited the room, and Makoto's protests were cut off by another round of coughing. By the time she had recovered, she could already hear him walking around the living room, speaking with Ami about something.

Mako and Naoto, otherwise known as the reincarnated Nephrite, had a very off and on friendship. Even after the Silver Millennium he was still about as tactful as a wrecking ball at times, and Makoto was significantly less stoic than Jupiter ever was, resulting in her getting offended at times. Naoto was never much to back down from a challenge, ending in jokes exploding into arguments, and then silence between them for a few days. They always forgave each other though, burning out quickly.

This was one of those argumental days. She heard the door open and close as Ami left, and then she was alone with him. What a great day to be sick with whatever stupid illness she had. A minute later, he was cracking open her bedroom door, holding a sheet of paper in his hand. At least he had the decency to look wary.

"Hey…" he said, stepping fully into the room. He was quieter than usual, and his eyes were softer. She gave a weak snort and did not return Naoto's greeting, partially because she had no desire to speak with him, and partially to prevent herself from sneezing for what felt like the 30th time in the past hour. He frowned, and his expression hardened more.

"I went with Ami's plan because I was worried, you know. It's weird seeing you like this." Makoto was suddenly aware that her hair was down and slightly frizzy from her own static buildup, and in a pair of pajamas. Embarrassment welled up in her, and her cheeks would have flushed if they weren't like that already.

"It's weird being like this," she finally said in a thick voice, glancing up at him. He grinned.

"In case you didn't realize, you look like a trainwreck." Her eyes narrowed at the comment, but her next words were impeded by the sneeze that had won against her resistance. He laughed as she blinked in surprised, dazed for a moment. "You sound pretty bad too."

"Come over here and I'll show you just how bad I am," Mako grumbled.

"Well someone doesn't have their sense of humor today, I guess you really are sick."

"I'm not exactly on my deathbed here." Sitting in her bed was starting to give her cabin fever on top of her regular one, and the sheets were getting uncomfortably charged by her own agitation.

"If you're bored of staring at the walls, we can move to the TV out there," Naoto suggested, brightening up considerably. After a moment of thought, Mako nodded.

"It's better than in here." She had this nagging feeling that she should be angry at him for something, but couldn't remember what it was. She sat up and moved to the edge of the bed, but when she went to stand, she almost fell under her own weight, head pounding. Makoto sat back down, waiting until the dizziness receded. He took a few steps closer to her, concerned.

"You sure you're alright? You don't look very steady."

"Headrush..." she mumbled as her vision refocused.

"Maybe I should help you out." Naoto went to take her arm, and her eyes widened.

"Wait, don't"- His hand jerked away as soon as he made contact with her heated skin, hissing in pain. Mako sighed. "I was going to warn you about that."

"You just shocked me!" he said, more surprised than hurt. She tried not to look too amused by his reaction.

"It happens sometimes." Her arm was visibly sparking now, before it faded away. "Just give me a few minutes to catch my breath and I can walk." Maybe Ami was right about her being sicker than she thought…

"Hm...wait here, I think I have an idea." Naoto left her alone, and started rummaging around in the kitchen. Just what was he up to now? He returned with a set of dishwashing gloves, pulling them over his hands. "Rubber doesn't conduct electricity, right?"

"No it doesn't, but I don't see how this has"- Makoto gasped as he bent down to scoop her off the bed. She crackled with static again, but it didn't seem to affect him now. "Hey, you don't have to carry me!" she yelled.

"Don't struggle, or I might drop you," he said, straining to balance her. He steadied them both, and took his time walking into the living room. Makoto was tense at first, but eventually relaxed enough in his arms. "Oh good, you've stopped trying to taser me."

"Hm?" she mumbled, looking up at him with half closed eyes. She hadn't realized that she had been drifting off. Naoto placed her on the couch and sat down beside her, removing the gloves.

"You were doing that electric thing for a while, but then you just...stopped."

"It did?" Mako had assumed that it was beyond her control, but then again she had been stressed out about being sick the entire morning. Maybe it was a reaction to her own emotions.

"Yeah. Tell me...have you ever badly shocked Ami or any of your other friends? I'm just curious." Makoto frowned at the thought of injuring any of them, even accidentally.

"No, not that I remember." Even when Minako had barged into her apartment and started "taking care" of her during a Black Moon clan attack few years ago, she hadn't shocked her. Though Minako probably deserved it.

"So it's just me you don't like," he said, teasing her. She rolled her eyes.

"Maybe if you didn't stick your foot in your own mouth so much…" Makoto said, sitting up.

"Hey, I like to think of myself as being honest." After watching a few episodes of a mindless sentai show, Naoto jumped a bit when he felt a sudden weight on his shoulder, but stayed still when he realized that it was just Mako using him as a headrest. "Don't go to sleep on me, I wanna stay healthy," he said, but he found that he didn't really care.

"Just laying down…" she said, slurring a little. Her eyes had a hard time focusing on the television. That medicine from earlier must have finally kicked in…

"Yeah, whatever you say." Naoto carefully moved his arm to rest behind her back, making sure she didn't fall over. After a long stretch of silence, she spoke again.

"Nephrite." He tensed at the name. Either the fever was starting to addle her brain, or she was being very serious right now to use it. He didn't look away from the screen, not sure if he wanted to see her expression.

"Yes…?" She shifted to face him.

"Look at me." Reluctantly, he turned. Makoto was staring at him, as if determined to do something, though the almost glazed look in her eyes weakened the effect. "I still can't remember what I was angry about, but…we fight a lot don't we?"

"Uh...I guess we do." Just what was this about?

"It just seems like we still can't get over the past. Both of them, I mean." She looked down at her lap, and Naoto hesitated before moving his hand under her chin, lifting it up.

"Do you want to move on from that?" he asked. "Pretend that we haven't killed each other before?" He could still feel the intensity of the lightning bolt that struck him when he tried to remember the haze that was his time in the Dark Kingdom. Yet here he was, sitting on the couch of the woman who slayed him. Revenge for his betrayal.

"Not pretend, just… think past it."

"I can try my best." She smiled at him, and he saw a flicker of something unidentifiable in her expression. Her hand moved to grab his shirt collar, and tugged it gently. He relented, leaning closer to her despite his better judgment. She closed the gap completely and kissed him without warning, and he stayed still, not wanting to push her too far. After a few long moments, she broke it and sat back down on the couch, her face redder than before.

"I'd have done that sooner, but you kept pissing me off and making me forget." After recovering his ability to speak, Naoto pulled her a little closer, letting her completely rest her weight on him.

"Well now I'm definitely catching what you've got." He gave a short laugh when she muttered sorry. "So...what does this mean for us?"

"I'll figure it out when I can think straight again." Makoto yawned, and he started rubbing her exposed arm.

"I'd call you a tease for doing that and then using me as your personal pillow, but I'll cut you some slack since you're sick."

"What a gentleman..."

"Was that sarcasm? You're lucky you're cute when you're exhausted..." He expected some kind of reaction from her, but all he got was a weak snore. Naoto took the chance to check her temperature again, and then turned off the television, content with waiting there until she woke up again.

Ami returned to find them both passed out on the couch, Naoto still supporting her.


End file.
